Pages

October 6, 2005

TIME OUT: You're Not the Boss of Me

"You're not the boss of me."

That phrase or one similar is said everyday in student and professional newsrooms across the country.

Sometimes our small newsroom staffers wonder, "Who is the boss of me?" In a perfect newsroom, the staff manual would define roles and responsibilities. However when it comes to staff manuals, usually the only people who read them are the people who wrote them.

When on the quick and dirty, staffers don't follow the newsroom organizational chart, they follow the power structure -- they aren't the same. Staffers gravitate to people who help, ignore those who can't and avoid those who impede.

Do you help others without taking over their projects?

Are you frustrated at being ignored because you don't have answers and consequently don't have answers because you're constantly ignored?

Does your passive-aggressive nature cause you to block the success of yourself and others?

Miguel M. Morales

Miguel grew up in Texas working as a migrant and seasonal farmworker. He is a Lambda Literary Fellow, a member of the Macondo Writers Workshop, and a VONA/Voices alum. Miguel also serves as president of the Latino Writers Collective.